Networks join fight against "NYPD Blue" fine

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - More than three years
after it went off the air, "NYPD Blue" is still at the center
of a battle over broadcast indecency.

Fox, NBC, Telemundo and CBS on Friday filed a legal brief
denouncing as unconstitutional the Federal Communications
Commission's decision to fine ABC $1.2 million for airing a
female derriere during a 2003 episode of the cop drama.

ABC paid the fine, and then appealed to New York's 2nd
Circuit Court of Appeal, claiming the commission's decision is
"arbitrary, capricious and contrary to the law."

The intervenor filing by the rival broadcasters claims the
FCC's order "reveals various starkly unlawful and
unconstitutional aspects" of an "expanding regime" bent on
enforcing bans on "indecent" broadcasting.

The 55-page filing lays out three areas in which the
networks claims the FCC is violating ABC's rights:

-- There were no bona fide complaints filed by viewers

-- The FCC's indecency enforcement is "constitutionally
vague" and invites subjective decision making

-- The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled over the years that any
ban on protected speech is unconstitutional if there is a
technological way from allowing individuals to block that
speech in their homes, like the V-Chip.
Continued...